blueprinted
It’s obvious to us that diversity problems won’t be solved by panel discussions
or in echo chambers. And so we designed The Blueprint mark. Its purpose is
simple: to help talented Black, Asian, Mixed Race and Ethnic Minority pros get
the careers they deserve, and to help organisations genuinely committed to
diversity to benefit from their talent. In 2018 and 2019 we brought together two
genuinely diverse groups to work together to come up with solutions to the PR
industry’s diversity problem. They included rising stars and powerhouses with
incredible careers. They included in-house pros and agency heads, crisis comms
specialists and an award-winning creative. There was a Mum of twins, an
ex-soldier, a counsellor and a councillor. A D&I specialist, a healthcare policy
expert, a disability campaigner (with great hair!) and a kick-ass HR director.
There was a born and bred Mancunian, a Scot, Nigerians, a Jamaican and even
someone from the exotic land of Leamington Spa. In mixed groups they were
introduced to a number of harrowing case studies based on the experiences of
people working in PR and comms and ran through a series of exercises. They
leaned into the uncomfortable, they laughed, they listened and they worked.
Through those workshops, The Blueprint was born. And those incredible
individuals? They serve as advisory board members (meeting three times a year
and shaping our work) and consultants (on hand to provide an additional steer).
As for day-to-day? The Blueprint is delivered by Blueprinted, a company with
purpose led by founder Elizabeth Bananuka and Project Manager Olivia Danso, with
the support of NEDS Anouchka Burton and Daljit Bhurji. Profits from The
Blueprint are used to support the work of BME PR Pros.
